Butter isn't always yellow

 

Our garden this year has been great at growing cucumbers, but not as great with zucchini. We've pulled just a few but they've sat. What should we make with them? In efforts to use up the zucchini and make something delicious - this wonderful recipe got pulled out. I've never browned butter before. I've heard of the wonder of browned butter, but haven't tried it. Now that I've tried it, I'm a believer. Browning butter is odd, you toss the butter in a pot and let it bubble until it doesn't bubble... at all... you have a molten pot of something not even bubbling... but it smells amazing. This coffee cake was easy to put together and made our house smell amazing. The good news is the coffee cake tastes delicious and we all enjoyed it. It was the perfect start to our Sunday morning family walk which ended up playing in a river. A great day and a great coffee cake!

Brown Butter Zucchini Coffee Cake

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini, don’t squeeze out the liquid

For the Brown Butter Streusel Topping:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 pan and set aside.

In a small saucepan, brown the butter for the cake. Melt the butter over medium-low heat and continue to cook, swirling occasionally, until butter turns golden brown and has a nutty aroma. Pour butter into a small bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together browned butter, Greek yogurt or sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract.

Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients and stir. The batter will be very thick and somewhat dry. Add the shredded zucchini and stir until cake is combined and moistened. Again, it will be very thick. Pour cake batter into prepared pan.

To make the streusel topping, brown the butter. Melt the butter over medium-low heat and continue to cook, swirling occasionally, until butter turns golden brown and has a nutty aroma. Pour butter into a small bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature. In a small bowl, combined browned butter, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Mix together until crumbly. Sprinkle topping evenly over cake.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake is light golden brown. Let the cake cool on a wire cooling rack.

While the cake is cooling, make the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon. Whisk until smooth and drizzle over cooled cake. Cut into squares and serve.